


Quartet

by killerweasel



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-17
Updated: 2014-04-17
Packaged: 2018-01-19 18:04:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1479046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killerweasel/pseuds/killerweasel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermann's normal day takes an unusual turn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Quartet

Title: Quartet  
Fandom: _Pacific Rim_  
Characters: Hermann Gottlieb, Newton Geiszler  
Word Count: 1,018  
Rating: PG  
A/N: AU before the events of _Pacific Rim_ and inspired by [this drawing](http://moiphy.tumblr.com/post/72321327121/noots-noots-noots-noots) by [moiphy](http://moiphy.tumblr.com)  
Warnings: n/a  
Summary: Hermann's normal day takes an unusual turn.

The day starts normally. Hermann wakes at 5:30 am. He showers and gets dressed. Then he makes a trip to the mess to get something in his stomach. Today's breakfast consists of cinnamon oatmeal and scrambled eggs washed down with a glass of juice. He snags an apple on his way out the door for a snack later.

He's rather cheerful by the time he reaches the lab. Newt won't be wandering in for at least an hour, which gives Hermann plenty of time to get all of his supplies where he wants them, go over his notes from the previous day, and then study his equations before he picks up where he left off.

The good mood vanishes as soon as Hermann steps through the doorway. At first he thinks his eyes are playing tricks on him. Newt is standing by his work station, prodding at a chunk of Kaiju with a ruler. Newt is also leaning on the wall by Hermann's blackboard. Newt is pacing the line on the floor separating their sides of the lab. He's also sitting on the couch at the back of the lab.

Hermann pinches himself. The action hurts, which means he hasn't accidentally fallen back asleep and this is not some sort of horrible nightmare. The Newts haven't noticed him yet and he debates on just fleeing the lab and letting someone else discover this madness. However, Hermann is not a coward. He knows that Newt somehow managed to do this to himself and he might need help fixing whatever he's done. Hermann doesn't even know if this is possible, but the thought of trying to split the lab with four Newts is a horror he can't even begin to fathom.

Straightening himself up to his full height, Hermann taps his cane loudly on the floor. "Newton, I need to know that this, whatever it is, is not contagious. I would prefer to be the only Hermann Gottlieb in existence."

He finds himself surrounded by Newts, all of which are speaking at the same time. Hermann can't make heads or tails of what they're babbling about and all the noise is making the inside of his skull ache. He pinches the bridge of his nose while trying to keep his temper under control. A Newt wearing a leather coat bumps into Hermann's bad leg, making the taller man yelp in pain.

"Newton!" The Newts take a step back, looking at Hermann warily. Hermann scowls at the trio of Newts to his left. “You three look identical, right down to the freckles on your face and your clothing." He points to the Newt in the leather coat. “I’m assuming you are the original because you’re wearing something the others are not. I would like you to tell me what's going on.”

"Yup, I'm the original Newt." Newt gives Hermann a sheepish smile. "I don't think this is contagious as long as you don't hold a mystery chunk of Kaiju while trying to plug in that power strip with the loose wire. I zapped myself unconscious. When I woke up, these guys were looking down at me. As far as I can tell, we all have the same memories, scars, tattoos and everything else. I did this last night, after you went to bed. So far, everyone is still here."

As Hermann processes this, he notices the other three Newts looking rather worried and uneasy. "Right." He reaches into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out a black marker. "Original Newton, you shall keep your jacket on while in the presence of the others so I know which one you are. The rest of you, please form a queue in the order you appeared."

Hermann walks up to the first Newt and draws a '2' on the front of his pocket. He labels the others as Newton '3' and '4'. "There. I think we should go about our day as we normally do. The Marshall has gone to oversee Cherno Alpha's transfer to the Shatterdome. If you are all still here when he gets back, we shall go inform him of the situation. Agreed?"

He soon realizes that while he can ignore or tone out one Newt, it is impossible to do so with four of them. By the time lunch rolls around, his nerves are starting to fray. He has a headache from the constant arguing about music and volume levels and his temper is shorter than usual. He gives up on his current equation and sits down at his desk.

Hermann debates on having his apple and decides to eat his carrot sticks instead. The moment he opens the package, he finds himself surrounded by Newts. Rolling his eyes, Hermann dumps the carrots onto a piece of paper towel. He snags a couple of them for himself before motioning for the others to eat. The feeding frenzy which follows is both fascinating and horrifying.

Newt 3 gets an odd look on his face as his stomach gurgles. "Anyone else feeling a little weird?" His stomach gurgles again, louder this time, and then he vanishes.

Newt 4 stares at the half-eaten carrot in his hand. "I think the carrot made him..." He disappears before finishing his sentence.

"Crap. I ate five of those." Newt 2 leans back against Herman's desk. He rubs a hand on his stomach. "It's been fun." He smiles at Hermann and then he's gone.

Newt reaches out, taking the remaining carrot. It crunches loudly between his teeth. "So... that happened. Are we going to tell the Marshall about any of this, Hermann?"

"Perhaps we can let this incident slide." Hermann rubs his temples. "I'm not sure I believe it and I was here."

"Want to go to the mess and have a proper lunch?" Newt slips his jacket off, hanging it on the back of Hermann's chair. "Eating might help with your headache."

Getting up, Hermann shoots Newt a glare. "Fine, but if you start singing 'I Think I'm a Clone Now' again, I'm going to sit by myself."

"Aw, you take the fun out of everything."

**Author's Note:**

> The song Hermann mentions is ['I Think I'm a Clone Now' by Weird Al Yankovic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1d-aWMQuoS4).


End file.
